Make in India – An Initiative for Economic Development of the Country

The main aim of Intellectual Property Right (IPR) is to establish a vibrant intellectual property regime in the country. In the era of Make in India, the government has decided to improve and protect the intellectual property rights of innovators and creators by upgrading infrastructure, and using state-of-the-art technology.

Make in India is a program of the Government of India to encourage companies to manufacture their products in India. It was launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on September 25, 2014. At an elementary level, Make in India is an effort to alter the production structure of the economy. The major objective behind the initiative is to focus on 25 sectors of the economy for job creation and skill enhancement. Some of these sectors are automobiles, chemicals, IT, pharmaceuticals, textiles, ports, aviations, leather, tourism and hospitality, wellness, railways, auto components, design manufacturing, energy, mining, bio-technology, and electronics. It is expected that this developmental initiative will increase GDP growth and tax revenue of the country. The initiative also aims at high quality standards and minimising the degradation of environment.

The impor­tance of Make in India as a discipline is enormous in the globalised era. There is a need to deliberate on various issues related to economics of Make in India in order to harness the opportunities available, face the challenges and combat these issues of varying complexities.

Logo of Make in India

The Make in India logo is as important as its objective. It is derived from India’s national emblem. The wheel denotes the movement or progress peacefully with dynamism. It also carries India’s enlightened past and focuses towards the way to a vibrant future. The prowling lion stands for strength, courage, tenacity and wisdom.

Objectives of Make in India

The basic objectives of Make in India are:

• To facilitate investment;

• To foster innovation;

• To enhance skill development;

• To protect intellectual property;

• To build manufacturing infrastructure.

Investment and Make in India

The launch of the Make in India campaign is a welcome move aimed at making India a more attractive investment destination. Relaxation has been initiated in Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) norms in many sectors including multi-brand retail, telecom and defence. Hundred percent FDI is allowed in all the sectors except space (74%), defence (49%) and news media (26%). FDI restrictions in tea plantation has been removed, while the FDI limit in defence sector has been raised from the earlier 26 percent to 49 percent currently. India’s emergence as the world’s top FDI destination in the first half of 2015 has been the outcome of the Make in India initiative. India has pulled ahead of China and the US to emerge as the world’s number one destination for FDI. India received $31 billion in foreign capital inflows in the first half of 2015; China was second with $28 billion and the US third with $27 billion. However, FDI coming to India has been concentrated to e-commerce, automobiles and cash & carry businesses, which are not aligned to the spirit of the Make in India campaign. Again these investments are aimed at tapping domestic consumption rather than boosting export, which is the thrust area of Make in India.

Skill Development and Make in India

India is having a large young workforce, an enabling economic environment and competitive wages, which are essential elements of Make in India. Skill development programs are needed to be launched especially for people from rural areas and poor ones from urban cities. Individuals aged 15-35 years will get high quality training in key areas such as welding, masonries, painting, nursing to help elder people, and skill certifications will be given. Currently, manufacturing in India suffers due to low productivity rigid laws and poor infrastructure resulting in low quality products getting manufactured. Over 1000 training centres will be opened across India in the next 2 years.

Innovation and Make in India

Empirical evidence shows positive linkage between patents, innovation, productivity and investment (Basin, 2015). Make in India will be successful when ‘Innovate in India’ will also merge with it. A strong research environment will encourage trade and investment in India, while fostering other benefits such as high-paying skilled jobs, transfer of technology, medical knowledge, etc. It is possible with the prioritisation of Research and Development (R&D). At present, India counts only 2.7 percent of global R&D spend, while China 17.5 per cent.

Besides innovation, some new initiatives are undertaken in the Make in India regime to improve the business environment of India. Now all income tax returns can be filed online. Validity of industrial licence is extended to three years. Paper registers are replaced by electronic registers by businessmen. The process of applying for industrial licenses is to be made through an online portal.

IPR and Make in India

The main aim of Intellectual Property Right (IPR) is to establish a vibrant intellectual property regime in the country. In the era of Make in India, the government has decided to improve and protect the intellectual property rights of innovators and creators by upgrading infrastructure, and using state-of-the-art technology.

To increase patent protection to global standards, it is necessary that innovations arising out of dedicated R&D are promoted and given due recognition, and are adequately protected through patents, designs, copyrights and other IPs that will create certainty in the minds of innovators and increase investor confidence. Innovation is judged by the number of patents. Table 1 will give an idea about the improvement in patent in India since the last few years.

A patent is granted to a new product in the industry. Industrial design refers to the shape, configuration, pattern, colour of the article. Trade mark is a design, label, heading, sign, word, letter, number, emblem, picture, which is a representation of the goods or service.

Even if there is an increasing trend in the IP filing in India, we still have a long way to go before becoming an innovation champion.

Manufacturing Sector and Make in India

Manufacturing sector is the backbone of any economy as it stimulates growth, productivity, employment and strengthens other sectors of the economy. The ultimate objective of Make in India initiative is to make India a manufacturing hub that will generate millions of employment opportunities and push India on a high and sustainable growth route. The situation of manufacturing sector in India is a cause of concern especially when seen in comparison to the massive transformation registered in this sector by other Asian countries in the era of globalisation. According to ‘2013 Global Manufacturing Competitiveness Index (GMCI)’, by Deloitte and the US Council on Competitiveness, India slide to 4th from 2nd rank since year 2009-10 to 2012-13 in terms of Global manufacturing competitiveness Index. However, during 2017-18, India is expected to register an index of 8.49 and reach 2nd rank after China (Table 2).

“We have skill, talent and discipline and a will to perform. We want to give a collective opportunity to the world. ….Come, make in India, we have the strength, come to our country, I invite you”. (Shri Narendra Modi, Hon’ble Prime Minister of India, August 15, 2014).

Objectives of Make in India

• To increase manufacturing sector growth to 12-14 percent per annum over the medium term;

• To increase the share of manufacturing in the country’s Gross Domestic Product from 16 percent to 25 percent by 2022;

• To create 100 million additional jobs by 2022 in manufacturing sector;

• To create appropriate skill sets among rural migrants and the urban poor for inclusive growth;

• To increase the domestic value addition and technological depth in manufacturing;

• To enhance the global competitiveness of the Indian manufacturing sector;

• To ensure sustainability of growth, particularly with regard to environment.

The Make in India program, launched by PM Narendra Modi, is designed to facilitate investment, foster innovation, protect intellectual property and build best-in-class manufacturing infrastructure. It is an initiative campaign run by the government of India to cheer up multinational companies as well as domestic companies at national and international level in order to manufacture products in India. India’s advantage is an attractive domestic market, comparative advantage in shipping and labour costs, an inexpensive currency relative to the US dollar, low political risk, etc. The initiatives will result in employment to the middle class and lower middle class, to the rural-urban migrants for whom income from agricultural activity is not enough for a decent quality of life. Make in India campaign also opens up favourable opportunity to the top investors to come in India and invest in businesses from electrical to electronics, automobiles to agro value addition, satellite to submarine, etc. It will also help build the effective physical infrastructure as well as improve the market of digital network in the country to make it a global hub for business.

Make in India initiative has received support and appreciation from different foreign counties and multinational companies. Russia is the first country to have agreed to take the initiative under the Make in India umbrella in two key strategic sectors - nuclear and defence. Japanese Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida said, “Japan will contribute to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Make in India initiative to support India in becoming a base of economic growth for the Indo-Pacific region and the world”. French defence firms are ready to ‘adapt’ to PM Modi’s Make in India push. Inspired by Make in India, UK launches ‘Great Collaborations’, which will seek greater cooperation between the companies based in India and the UK on a range of sectors such as energy, healthcare, advanced manufacturing, financial service and infrastructure.

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